Kooh

Col: 18,811

Tier 1 mats: 25

Tier 2 mats: 10

Kooh nearly growled at the man. He was sure keen on testing her patience, but for whatever reason she felt obligated to excuse his teasing. Perhaps she enjoyed the banter. She certainly couldn't remember the last time someone was so willing to poke fun at her without the fear of consequence. The blonde simply let out a small sigh as she folded her arms over her chest. "Even if I said yes, I can't imagine it would stop you." She shot back with an indifferent tone. Jealousy was an odd emotion, and she couldn't remember the last time she had felt it burning away at her heart. In fact, her heart was a tricky one itself--her head was typically too busy dictating her actions that it hardly had the time to get a word in edgewise. She liked it that way sometimes. Complicated emotions were distracting and, often times in her experience, not worth the trouble they caused.

While Kooh and Aereth were giving each other a hard time, Leyna had traveled out to the forests' edge. She was crouched in a tall tree, surveying the open areas in front of her with a careful eye, as if she was waiting for something. The woman had left her hut earlier than usual this morning, partly due to the oddity of having house guests, and partly because she was trying to hunt a rather elusive monster. From what little information she had gathered, the huntress had determined that a single black panther stalked the forest at night and again in the early morning. The wildcat was a rare spawn, so it was likely that it dropped some good materials, and maybe even an item. Not having caught sight of the creature yet, Leyna carefully moved between the trees to give herself a good vantage point.

Leyna's base stealth rating: 12

Hands resting in the pockets of her shorts, Kooh weaved through the loose crowds while she thought about what to do next. She would probably stick around town for a bit longer before heading back to Halcyon's Keep. She normally didn't like to do any dirty work so close to where she lived, but she was planning to leave the restaurant soon enough.

As she was making her way through the more narrow streets to the next plaza, the blonde heard a scream just before a figure bumped into her from her side. The girl stumbled a bit, but stayed on her feet, looking over her shoulder in annoyed confusion to see a female NPC scurrying down the street the way she had come. The blonde's eyebrows narrowed slightly, as if to wonder what was wrong with the woman before she shook off the incident and continued walking. A minute later, she was met by a couple of NPCs trying to pick up some fallen barrels and boxes that had blocked off a major street. The girl's bottom lip twitched into a small frown, but she simply continued on the same path rather than taking the turn she normally would have. A couple of minutes later, she put some distance between herself and another man she overheard grumbling about "those damn rats again".

She wasn't sure if it was the NPCs' programming, but sometimes she hated having to live among the false humans. Other real people got on her nerves enough as it was, so she didn't need artificial intelligence roaming around to get in her way. Holding back a sigh, Kooh's eyes met those of a stranger looking back at her--a tall man with fiery red hair, offering her a smile and a nod before they were to pass by each other. At his side, Kooh couldn't help but notice a woman with dark hair that kept her attention forward. Why this man had decided to acknowledge her was beyond her, but she had seen stranger instances of unsolicited attention. With the interaction between herself and the knightly-looking boy still fresh in her mind, she wore a small smile of her own, as if she was grateful to the man for paying her any mind. She returned his nod as well, as soon they had passed by each other, allowing the blonde's expression to return to one of boredom.

"Hah, yeah." Kooh replied in casual agreement when Aereth had mentioned she wouldn't have to worry about getting killed. 'Isn't that something that everyone has to worry about all the time anyway?' She kept the thought to herself. Her reflection was short-lived when she felt a slight force on her rear as she had cleared the doorway, causing the girl to give a start and spin around to face the impish brunette. Her cheeks were tinted a faint pink while a flustered look rested on her expression. The blonde was about to raise a hand against the man when she stopped herself halfway, closing her eyes and furrowing her brow in irritation as she lowered her arm.

"If you're not careful, you'll have to deal with me all over again." She spun around to continue forward a few steps as she spoke, referring to the thought that her cursor would turn orange again if she were to strike him. The fact that Leyna had given the man a slap of her own the day before without penalty hadn't occurred to her, but she wasn't dwelling on the topic for long. She let out a tiny sigh, calming herself down while she crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, a woman's jealousy is a dangerous thing." She turned slightly to face Aereth with a small smirk as she waited for the man to lead the way.

"Wow, thanks! You're a lifesaver!" Kooh wore a bright smile as she pressed the confirmation on a trade window in front of her. The blonde had managed to secure not only a decent sum of col, but a handful of materials as well. As far as what she was going to do with the money that she had received from this stranger, she hadn't gotten that far yet. She was simply trying to get back into the swing of things. Even after all that had happened in the past couple of weeks, it seemed almost eerily natural to go back to lying to strangers. As the girl gave a friendly wave and a wide smile, she turned her back on the player that had so willingly given her the items. Once she had gotten far enough away, Kooh slipped her hand into her pocket and the innocent expression was wiped from her face. She looked bored as she strolled through the city, wondering to herself what she should do with the rest of her day.

The blonde could only imagine her roommate's reaction if he knew that she was scamming players out of their resources. Perhaps he would scorn and scold her. Maybe he would even kick her out. The thought had the girl give a tiny chuckle under her breath. She had been thinking of removing herself from Halcyon's Keep for a few days now, but hadn't bothered to commit to the decision. A proper bed and free meals were hard to just give up when they were right in front of her every day.

"Hm?" Kooh hummed lightly after Aereth's question. 'Man, was I being that obvious?' She thought, surprised at herself. Perhaps after their extended time together, the blonde had begun to let her guard down around him. Before she became absorbed in the question of whether or not that was a bad thing, the girl put on a small grin. "Right?" She said in agreement. "And you should be happy to finally be getting me out of your hair." She joked with a convincing chuckle.

'C'mon Luna, it's not the end of the world.' She told herself, pulling her body off of the couch and stretching her arms over her head. A yawn escaped the girl, and she walked over to join the brunette in the start of his next quest. "Yeah yeah, time to go find another girl to save and flirt with." She continued teasing the man despite his earlier retaliation. She left the hut and folded her arms behind her head as she took slow, casual strides before turning at her waist towards Aereth. "So, huge forest, non-descriptive recording, what's your plan exactly?"

Kooh blinked in surprise at the brunette's quick-worded quip. The gears of her mind were clearly turning as she made sense of how she'd ended up waking on a couch that she didn't remember falling asleep on. The girl averted her gaze with a small scowl as one thing that was nearly impossible to mask--the red hue of a blush--tinted her cheeks. The blonde sat herself up, folding her legs beneath her and placing her chin in her hands as she listened to Aereth continue on with his explanation. She still avoiding looking at him, but her expression quickly returned to normal before she felt another knot forming in her stomach.

'Home', he said. She didn't really have one of those. Maybe she pretended to for a little while when Sey first tried to take her in, but after she had gotten the impression that she was a side project for him. A good-for-nothing from the streets that the white-haired warrior could mold to satisfy his need to 'help others help themselves', or whatever fueled his strange behavior. The thought of going back to Halcyon's Keep nearly made her stomach turn.

But if not Taft, where would she go? There were so few people she encountered more than once, and fewer still that she would care to contact. Itzal was like a more naive, less expectant version of Sey. She hadn't heard anything from or about Adhae or Verus in months. Cygnus was one she felt glad to finally have stopped running into. The passage of time suddenly felt very real, and Kooh couldn't help but feel conflicted. "Mm, yeah." Kooh responded in reflex when she caught the prompting tone in Aereth's voice.

A familiar voice pulled at Kooh's attention, and she quickly realized that she wasn't alone in the small room. She spotted Aereth, relaxing a bit as the memories came back to her. His next words trailed off, and she could feel his eyes move past her when he mentioned the cursor floating above her head. "Huh?" She breathed out, expression blank as her mind worked to process the meaning of his words. She almost looked up above her before realizing that she wouldn't be able to see the marker without a mirror of some sort. Besides, she didn't need to see her cursor to believe that Aereth was telling the truth. While the haze continued to clear from her mind, a mixture of emotions swirled around, leaving a heavy lump in her stomach. Trying to ignore the feeling, Kooh rolled to her side, still propping herself up on her arm. The blonde took on a small smirk, focusing instead on his next question. "Sure, knock yourself out." She leaned over to retrieve the crystal from the floor. The item activated, and she tossed it over to Aereth. Leyna's voice played back again, identical to the first recording.

"So what's up?" She asked casually, curious as to why the man wanted to hear the message again. "Your danger senses tingling, or did you just want to hear her voice again?" She teased slyly.

Kooh hadn't stirred when Leyna slipped a crystal into her curled hand. It wasn't until hours later, when the sun had risen and hung over the island floor, that the blonde shifted and the item slipped away. When the object fell to the ground, it began to emit a soft glow and sound poured out from it. Leyna's voice had been stored inside of the recording crystal, and the sound beside her caused Kooh's brow to furrow. She let out a tiny grumble as her sleep was disturbed, almost wanting to ignore the voice.

"Good morning you two. I don't know what you plan to do, but you may rest if you'd like. I do not have extra food, so if you stay around you will want to collect materials from the forest." The woman's voice sounded strangely unsure as it came from the crystal, as if she was giving instructions that she wasn't sure would be followed or not. The sound of Leyna clearing her throat came next, as if solidifying the awkwardness that she had obviously felt. "I will be gone until sundown. You both have permission to enter, but if you are gone and do not come back at night... then I wish you good luck." She seemed to struggle for the right words to say, but after that the crystal's light faded and the item lay inactive on the ground.

Kooh squinted slightly, a fogginess still hanging over her mind. She had only caught pieces from Leyna's message, regarding it as more of a distraction than anything else. Rubbing at her eye with the back of her hand, Kooh let out a yawn while she finally came to her senses. 'Hm? Wait, when did--' Her thoughts were cut short as she realized the piece of furniture beneath her that had served as a bed. Propping herself up on her elbows, the blonde was still a bit disoriented as her head turned to recall the hut that they had used as shelter the night before.

As Kooh spotted his eyes glancing to the table yet again, she surpressed a smirk. 'Guess he has to keep himself busy.' She thought while the man received a glass of water. He seemed to be searching for a way to move the conversation along, but the blonde was simply surprised they were still talking about anything at this point.

"I mean, would you turn down someone who offered a free ride on a quest?" She replied with a question of her own. Taking on a thoughtful expression, her head tilted slightly while her pupils drifted towards the ceiling. "Now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn't answer messages from strange men saying they'll give me free experience." Her eyes flicked down to meet Hikoru's again, and she wore a grin to indicate that she was teasing him once again.

Once any lingering tension died down again, Kooh continued to lean back in her chair and spoke up again. "You're not wrong though, fighting is...a pain." She had hesitated, as if searching for the right words. "Heck, even if it were still just a game I don't think I'd want to go swinging a sword around all day." She explained with a small shrug of her shoulders.

The smile continued to rest on Kooh's features as the man's confusion grew and grew. Her right eye opened half-way to cast a sidelong glance at the back of the stranger's head. She could see it swivel side to side a couple of times before he called back out to answer the blonde's commentary. She let out a low chuckle before she caught on to what sounded like a defeated mumble. While she couldn't make out the words he might have said, it didn't stop an idea from entering her mischievous mind.

"Well if you don't want 'em, give 'em to me then!" Her eyes closed again while she called from the other side of the fountain. The girl had to resist another chuckle to keep her tone serious as she continued, "Go on, just toss 'em into the water!" She instructed, trying to be careful not to draw suspicion to herself while she expected the blue-haired man to turn around to face the water behind him. 'Oh man, I wonder if he'll actually do it.' She thought. 'I don't think I could stop myself from laughing if he actually buys it.'

Leyna took on a troubled look for a fleeting moment before she responded. "Heartless monster?" She questioned despite his explanation of the name. The woman closed her eyes as a breath of air left through her nose. "This world is...strange. Some people just try to wait and survive, and some try to make the best of it." While she didn't make it clear, Leyna referred to herself and Valeria's outlook. "Some have taken the road of evil, and some..." she opened her eyes to look back at Aereth, "bring justice in this world without laws. I am sure there are police officers that have taken a life when there is no other option. But I do not think they are heartless." Her lips curled up into a small, wry smile. "Maybe it is not a very good comparison," She admitted. "but there is nobody to protect the people here but ourselves. It is only a shame that some would take advantage of this world as if there is no consequence..." Her expression saddened slightly as her head rolled to one side, her cheek resting against the back of her hands. While it was only her stubbornness keeping her from actually liking the man, Leyna didn't think she wanted Aereth to condemn himself.

"There must be others with the same thoughts as you," she smiled again, this time in more of a playful manner. Her back straightened up while she spoke with an exaggerated tone, "'To protect the innocent and punish the evil,'" Though she meant more to lift the man's spirits than to mock him, she gave a teasing smirk. "Do not give yourself so much credit as being a 'heartless monster'."

When Aereth explained his tentative plan, Leyna's smile lost its playful hint. She stood up from her seat, placing her hands on her hips while she let out a small sigh. "Well, you should get all the rest you can, then. There isn't much furniture, but," The woman pulled up her menus and navigated to her inventory. She selected an item that caused a couple of folded blankets to materialize on the tabletop between them. "I have some extra blankets." Leyna glanced back to the other room where Kooh slept. There wasn't much more to the tiny home than what Aereth had already seen. "Sleep wherever you like, I suppose." She gave a shrug, realizing that she had never had to take in any guests after setting up her small forest house.

Kooh couldn't remember the last time she had allowed herself to laze around in the middle of the city, doing nothing. While she lay on the short stone wall encircling a fountain in one of the plazas of the first floor's capital, the girl was reminded of the day some month back when she was approached by the white-haired man that would go on to torment her with obligations and expectations. A puff of air left her nose as Kooh folded her arms behind her head, trying to keep from pouting at the turn of events. She still wasn't sure if she would refuse the man's proposal if she was given a second chance.

Through the normal bustle of the city around her, a peculiar sound reached the blonde's ears. A creepy, unappealing laughter sounded from the opposite side of the structure beside her, causing the girl to prop herself up on her elbows. With one leg outstretched along the the stone wall and the other bent at the knee with the sole of her boot pressed lightly against the cobblestone ground, she craned her neck, curious as she spotted an elderly woman with a tattered cowl as the source of the noise. She simply frowned, about to dismiss the NPC from her thoughts when she spotted the blue-haired player directly in front of her. She continued watching for a moment, only the slightest curiosity keeping her interested as the old woman left the scene. From her position, Kooh was barely able to catch the man's confused words.

"Pfft!" When she made out what he had said, offering the uninterested players around him some 'croutons', Kooh couldn't help but let out a chuckle. The blonde closed her eyes as she lowered herself back to her resting position, folding her arms behind her head once more. She raised her voice as she spoke up, so that the blue-haired player might hear her in the distance. "Man, you really oughta work on your sales pitch." Her lips were still curled into a smile.

Kooh was either a heavy sleeper, or the exhaustion that set in from recent events had a firm grasp on her. Either way, the girl didn't stir when Aereth moved her. Leyna gave the man a small nod when he seemed to be asking her if she wanted to speak elsewhere.

Although the 'house' didn't provide as much space or privacy as most other basic player homes, Leyna and Aereth were able to put some space between themselves and the sleeping girl to speak normally. The huntress sat with her legs crossed again, lacing her fingers together while her chin rested on the bridge they created. "It looks like you are very...protective." She continued, taking a moment to choose the word carefully. "Maybe I am just mistaken." She said with a sly smile, glancing over to where Kooh would be resting. Although she wasn't straightforward about it, Leyna was attempting to tease the man about his relationship with the blonde girl.

She let out a small sigh, closing her eyes. "Perhaps I am silly for thinking about love when the world around us is so quick to destroy it." A small, melancholic smile rested on her features before her eyes opened again. She tilted her head to rest her cheek against the back of her hands. "So what will you do now?" She questioned the brunette.

Kooh gave the brunette half a smirk and a nod and his proposal. "Sounds good." She said alongside a sigh. Despite her normal casual demeanor, a fresh wave of exhaustion was beginning to wash over her. The blonde could only imagine that the other two players were just as tired as she was, but then again she was the one that hadn't experienced this kind of lifestyle until now. The girl mentally shrugged it off, laying herself down on her back and folding her arms behind her head while she stared up at the hut's ceiling. "Well, I dunno about you guys, but I could easily sleep for like twelve hours right now, soo." Kooh left her sentence unfinished as she turned on her side, the back of her white dress facing the other two players.

Leyna let out a tiny chuckle at the blonde's comment, raising an eyebrow at the girl's back before giving a small shake of her head. The woman ran a hand through her short black hair as silence watched over them for a few moments. As emotionally drained as she was, the huntress couldn't will herself to sleep just yet. She pulled her knees close to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs while she looked to be thinking about something. Within minutes, Kooh seemed to already be asleep, her frame rising and falling as her breathing steadied. Leyna glanced over to the brunette, curious as to whether or not he would retire as quickly. If not, the woman would shift her gaze back to the sleeping blonde with a small, sly smile on her face. "You two are...friends?" She questioned in a hushed voice. She put emphasis on the word, prodding the man with her suggestive and curious tone.

Leyna listened patiently to Aereth's explanation regarding the brothers. When he was done, she let out another small sigh through her nose. "I knew those kids didn't want to be there." She muttered with a shake of her head. She blinked when Aereth inquired about the emerald pendant around her neck, giving a low chuckle when he expressed his curiosity over the item. She looked to the ground as her hand moved up to glide her fingers over the gem's surface. "As you can imagine, I lost someone too." She started. "I wasn't so lucky to know her in the real world. But I wanted to more than anything. She was beautiful...the kindest soul I will ever meet." Her voice carried an unmistakable care among the sadness. "She made this item for me." Her fingers idly traced around the edges of the pendant. "Even if someone could make one that looked just like it, it wouldn't be hers. It wouldn't have Valeria's name." A bittersweet smile formed as she lowered her hand.

Kooh listened to the story, continuing to keep quiet until eventually Aereth addressed her directly. She blinked in surprised, not expecting the man to notice her missing hood. She offered a small smirk. "Is that right? Maybe when this is all over I can have you make me some new outfits." The corners of her lips curled upwards, already a bit excited at the idea. When the notification triggered and a prompt displayed in front of her with Aereth's friend request, Kooh chuckled. "Aww, at least after all this I've got a friend." She teased, pressing the small blue circle to accept. The dialogue box disappeared at her touch, and Kooh placed her palms on the ground behind her to allow her to lean back. "So Boss, now that we're not actively being hunted anymore, what's the plan?"

Leyna shifted her weight, placing a hand on her hip while she watched Aereth sink to the floor. The woman frowned, listening to his explanation of what happened before a puff of air left through her nose in a half-chuckle. "So you took out both Tallas and Kreeyin? I might just be able to sleep normally tonight." She turned, walking over to the simple sleeping area in a corner of the small hut. The woman sat down, facing the pair and crossing her legs beneath her, arms folded over her chest. "Thank you." The words left her almost bitterly, a hint of her stubborn attitude showing while she looked Aereth in the eyes. After a few seconds she broke away her gaze and continued. "You're right, Avi can't hurt a fly. I never knew what those kids' story was, but I'm glad they have a chance now, too." She uncrossed her arms, letting her forearms rest on her knees while she leaned forward slightly, giving Aereth and Kooh some insight of her own. "Tallas and Kreeyin were the head and fist of that disgusting guild." She spat with a clear contempt for the late players. "Without them, and with two less lackeys to push around, who knows... They might just disband." A half-smirk rested on her features as her gaze drifted up to Kooh for a moment before shifting back to Aereth. "So I know you were forced into it, but thank you. I bet you saved a lot more people from a fate like mine, or those brothers, or her." Emerald eyes flickered back to Kooh, the blonde giving a blank stare in response. Placing her chin in her palm, Leyna let out a tiny sigh, looking the pair over once more. "You two can rest here for a bit, I could spare a healing potion if you'd like." She reached into a pouch at her belt with her free hand, pulling out two small glass bottles filled with a crimson liquid that she would hand over to either player should they accept.

Kooh would accept the item, having listened in silence to the exchange ever since Leyna was freed. The blonde frowned at the vial in her hand, but willed herself to drink the odd fluid. Her garnet eyes flickered up to her user interface, seeing her health bar gradually refilling. The red gashes began to vanish, and even the dirt on her white clothing faded away. Grateful for her normal appearance returning, Kooh took a seat on the ground as well, looking over to Aereth as if to wordlessly ask what they should do now. Her hand reached up to her shoulder as if to grab hold of something that wasn't there. Realizing that her hood was missing, she recalled the exchange that had resulted in the clothing's destruction. A small frowned worked itself on her lips at the realization.

ID#: 86757 | BD: 8 + (2 ACC) - Success!
(3 Base) + (2 Skill) + (2 Equipment) = 7 DMG
<<Boulder>>: 0/50 HP - Dead

Kooh landed the final blow on the boulder--another solid kick from her right leg. When its health bar dropped to zero, a huge crack ran down the middle, splitting the object in two before it shattered into hundreds of shards of light. "About time." Kooh placed one on her shoulder while she gave it a roll, stretching her limbs before placing her hands back into her pockets. The girl tapped the toe of her boot against the ground a couple of times, dismissing the window that had popped up in front of her. She was given a small col reward, and less experience than the first time she had completed the quest. Still, it was something for the time she had spent.

"So, now that you can dump all those points into your new skill, you got any other exciting plans?" She twisted her torso to ask the blonde over her shoulder.

@Ruby

ID#: 86766 | BD: 2 + (2 ACC) - Fail!
<<Boulder>>: 4/50 HP

"Hmph," At Ruby's comment Kooh gave her a sly look. "I bet a few minutes in town is more than enough for you to work your magic on all the ladies." Targeting the woman's own quirky personality was easy, and Ruby seemed to be a good enough sport about it. Shooting back her own teasing comments kept Kooh from getting distracted or flustered.

Hoping to finish the objective off, Kooh was just about to think that this wasn't nearly as bad as the first time she had to complete the quest. Even after roping three other people into it, it was pretty tough without someone who already had the damn skill. The blonde instead let out a tiny sigh as her attack didn't have the boulder's health bar budging this time. Hopefully it wouldn't take them more than a couple more tries, so she just shrugged it off.

ID#: 86757 | BD: 9 + (2 ACC) - Critical Success!
(3 Base) + (2 Skill) + (2 Equipment) + (1 Critical) = 8 DMG
<<Boulder>>: 5/50 HP

"Pfft!" Kooh let out another chuckle at the woman's flirtatious comment. "Well you know your way around a pick-up line, I'll give you that." She offered, delivering another critical strike against the boulder. Finally, some consistent progress. The massive rock was left in the red zone, with just a few points left to its health bar. It was littered with cracks and red gashed from their onslaught, looking as if it were about to fall apart before them. "Most chicks--or anyone really--don't have half the confidence to throw them out there like that." Kooh wore her usual smirk as she gave Ruby a quick look over. "Maybe I can learn a thing or two." She let out another small chuckle. The blonde wasn't exactly looking for anyone to get close to. Quite the opposite in fact. Still, Ruby's presence was in stark contrast to the majority of other players she'd encountered up until now, and she was able to find it a bit refreshing.

@Ruby

ID#: 86757 | BD: 10 + (2 ACC) - Critical Success!
(3 Base) + (2 Skill) + (2 Equipment) + (2 Critical) = 9 DMG
<<Boulder>>: 14/50 HP

"Hmmm," Kooh mused while listening to the woman's continued explanation. She glanced to the number of unspent SP she had. 'Thirty-three... With that amount, she could pick up maybe one of two unknown skills, but she was far off being able to boost any of the ranked ones. According to her level in Martial Arts, she couldn't even max that out if she dumped all of her points into it. 'Man, am I actually considering putting some work into this?' She questioned herself before dismissing her menus. The blonde unfolded her arms and approached to land another attack on the quest objective. Bringing her leg around to slam her greaves against the boulder, the game indicated critical damage. The health bar hovering beside the rock dropped well below the halfway point they had been sitting at, putting it down to about a third of its total left. Backing off and giving another small shrug, Kooh finally spoke up after all of Ruby's suggestions. "I suppose. I'm not all that much for fighting, so maybe treasure hunting could be more my thing."

ID#: 86754 | BD: 2 + (2 ACC) - Fail!
<<Boulder>>: 24/50 HP

When Kooh took another swing at the rock, she scoffed again as the result didn't apply any damage to her target. "Ehh, probably not too bad off." She remarked, referring to her own failed attacks slowing them down. While she backed off a couple of steps and let Ruby do her own thing, Kooh's arms folded across her chest again. She shifted her weight, thinking over the blonde's suggestion. "Mmm, scouting?" She echoed. "I'll level with 'ya, I'm not too smart about this stuff." She admitted with a small shrug. She could have played it off or pretended to absorb her advice despite not understanding it, but that certainly would have just caused her trouble later. She opened up her menus again, almost as if giving her something to do in the few seconds until she would try another attack, pulling up her skill list. The single Martial Arts skill sat at Rank 2, and underneath it was a long list of grayed out options that she knew nothing about.

ID#: 86749 | BD: 4 + (2 ACC) - Success!
(3 Base) + (2 Skill) + (2 Equipment) + (1 Sharpness) = 8 DMG
<<Boulder>>: 24/50 HP

At the mention of unspent SP, Kooh had to fight off a look of guilt, as if Ruby had hit the nail on the head. She felt a little more relieved when the woman explained that she had so much of her own saved up. 'She at least has a plan for it, though...' She thought with a mental sigh. Turning her attention back to the conversation, Kooh gave another light smirk. "Yeah, with that attitude and a healer build, I bet you can get into just about any party easy." She only barely teased. That must have been exactly right--with all of the desperate guys that played this game, she imagined the only thing keeping any of them away was a possible intimidation factor. Even if Ruby was into girls, she still had the looks to get a party invite from almost anyone.

The weapons covering her shins glowed faintly again with the power from Ruby's skill. She switched up her stance, this time swinging her left leg around to deliver another kick that dropped the boulder's health bar considerably. "There we go." She murmured, satisfied with the attack.

ID#: 86744 | BD: 2 + (2 ACC) - Fail!
<<Boulder>>: 32/50 HP

While Ruby placed another fist against the boulder's surface, Kooh was busy, lost in thought mulling over the other items sitting in her inventory. The only other things she had sitting there were a different pair of greaves (the stats on those being even worse than what she had on for this task) and a few consumable items. The flirtatious blonde's voice pulled her from her thoughts, and Kooh let out a mumbled "Hm?" as she looked up at her. "Ah, yeah, go for it." She gave a half-smirk at the woman's joking comment. She brought a hand up to rub at the back of her neck, shifting her weight while she did so. "Ehh, this whole thing is just reminding me that I should get around to paying more attention to my build." She admitted. "My items are sub-par, so I could really be doing a lot more damage at my level."

@Ruby

ID#: 86737 | BD: 3 + (2 ACC) - Fail!
<<Boulder>>: 33/50 HP

"True true, you'd be here all day if you were by yourself." She said, placing a hand on her hip. She could remember at times mimicking the woman's confidence and flirty attitude, although those days felt like distant memories at this point. Her demeanor since joining SAO had changed over time, and she was rarely interested in other people lately.

The blonde delivered another kick to the boulder, the damage boost from Ruby having already worn off. She had gotten lazy with her attack, however, and the game represented her failure with an absence of damage. "Tch." Kooh scoffed under her breath as her foot touched the ground again. 'I guess if I'm gonna be doing this stuff again I should bother getting some decent equipment one of these days.' She thought, considering the mid-range items she was wearing. Considering she never really went out of her way to get col or materials either, she had never really had much means to go out shopping for gear anyway.

@Ruby